Seventy US civic groups sent a joint letter to Japan opposing the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, arguing that Japan’s filtration system is insufficient to make the water safe. According to the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement on Tuesday, US nongovernmental organizations including the Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World wrote to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on June 5 o

Social Affairs June 15, 2021

Attention is now being paid to Lee Jun-seok, who became the first person to lead the conservative main opposition People Power Party while still in his 30s. The 36-year-old graduated from the elite Seoul Science High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science from Harvard University. One of the “Park Geun-hye kids” who were drawn into politics by Park in 2011, when she was the head of Saenuri Party, a predecessor of People Power Party, and befor

Politics June 11, 2021

Lee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old politician, won the leadership election for the opposition People Power Party, becoming the youngest ever leader of the nation’s main conservative party. On Friday, Lee defeated his rival Na Kyung-won, a former floor leader of the party, to claim the chairmanship, the party said. Earlier, the People Power Party’s election commission conducted a vote on 328,000 electors from Monday to Thursday. The final winner was determined by a combination of vo

Politics June 11, 2021

Seoul City will implement a one-month pilot project and ease social distancing rules at some private sports facilities, officials said Thursday, amid growing vaccination rates in the city. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would allow fitness centers and indoor golf practice centers in the Mapo-gu and Gangdong-gu areas to operate until midnight for a month starting Saturday. The facilities in the two areas will be allowed to extend their hours for two hours beyond the current 10 p.m.

Social Affairs June 10, 2021

Calls are growing for Seoul to boycott the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics in protest against the Japanese government’s marking of Dokdo as its territory on its Olympics website. The Korean government recently found that Dokdo remains on the Japanese territorial map on its Olympics website as a faint dot when the screen is zoomed in. Earlier, Japan had made the island unseen on the map after Korea’s protest. The Korean government recently protested again to remove the island, but th

Politics June 9, 2021

A Seoul court ruled Monday that victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor cannot sue Japanese companies. The victims said they would appeal the ruling. The Seoul Central District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by 85 plaintiffs, comprising forced laborers and bereaved family members of forced laborers, against 16 Japanese companies including Nippon Steel, Nissan Chemical and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Rejection means the court made its decision without hearing the case because it d

Social Affairs June 7, 2021

Lee Jin-ah, 43 and the mother of a 13-year-old son, has been following the updates of the death of Sohn Jung-min, a medical student who died in the Han River, every day, through news articles and YouTube videos. “Because I have a son, I am emotionally attached to Jung-min’s father. I feel so sorry for him. It is so terrible to think that my child could be dead like that,” she said. Lee does not know why Jung-min died, but does not trust the police investigation. “I

Social Affairs June 7, 2021

Discussions on abolishing the age limit for presidential candidates are gaining traction in the wake of the sensation caused by 36-year-old Lee Jun-seok in the main opposition People Power Party’s leadership race. Under the current Constitution, a candidate must be over 40 years old to run for president. The clause was first introduced in 1962 during the fifth constitutional amendment led by the military regime. In order for the Constitution to be revised, the motion needs the support

Politics June 6, 2021

Going to a new restaurant and eating out is not a big deal for most Seoulites, but it is a challenge for Lim Sung-hee, 42, who has used a wheelchair for about 20 years since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Many restaurants, coffee shops and convenience stores in Seoul remain inaccessible to her because of stairways and raised door thresholds. In her wheelchair, she can’t get over steps higher than 5 centimeters. To avoid frustration, Lim tries to visit only those restaurant

Social Affairs June 2, 2021

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has wrapped up an official visit to Russia and the Czech Republic, conducting extensive diplomacy focusing on peaceful settlement on the Korean Peninsula and nuclear power plant exports, officials said Monday. Park’s nine-day trip that ended Sunday came at the official invitation of Russian House Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Czech Senator Milos Vystrcil. During the first five days, Park visited Russia to focus on deepening friendship and co

Politics May 31, 2021

South Korea’s Labor Ministry is facing criticism over a sexual harassment case at a foreign company’s Korean office. Early in 2020, a male employee in his 30s working for a large British investment firm in Korea reported to the UK headquarters that his female boss was sexually harassing him. Following the complaint, the boss began asking him to do things that violated company guidelines and the headquarters eventually fired him for failing to comply, according to the accuser. He

Social Affairs May 28, 2021

Ruling Democratic Party’s Rep. Park Yong-jin, 50, the first politician who announced a run for president in next year’s election, has vowed that he would reform the military conscription system. Park says it is time to transition to a voluntary military, with compulsory service restricted to basic training for men and women. “The debate on volunteer military system in our society has been quite long. But we are not going in that direction yet. We still conscript young peo

Politics May 27, 2021

Some politicians have raised their voices in support of granting clemency to jailed Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, after remarks from President Moon Jae-in appeared to open up that possibility. Earlier this month, Moon said he would “judge after hearing many opinions from the public,” suggesting Lee might be pardoned. He had taken a different tone at a New Year’s press conference, saying, “Now is not the time to say pardon.” In his more recent statement he said, &ld

Politics May 24, 2021

Yongsan-gu mayor said that a US military resort hotel in the city should be out of an envisioned national park slated to open within a decade. Upon the agreement made between Korea and the US in 2003, the US Forces Korea headquarters and the United Nations Command moved to Pyeongtaek in 2018, ending the US military presence in the city. In 2005, the Korean government announced plans to build the nation’s first urban national park in the area by 2027. “The land occupied by foreign

Social Affairs May 23, 2021

New information continues to emerge regarding the night Sohn Jung-min disappeared near the Han River, further fanning public interest in the case. The medical student was found dead in the river the next day. According to police investigations so far, Sohn was with a friend at Han River Park until around 3:38 a.m. on April 25. Later, at around 4:27 a.m., the friend woke up alone and went home without knowing where Sohn had gone. Later, the police checked each of the 154 vehicles entering an

Social Affairs May 19, 2021